Why “I” became a combatant: A study of memoirs written by Nepali Maoist combatants

Khagendra Acharya, Orla T. Muldoon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article analyzes combatants’ accounts of their engagement with the Communist Party of Nepal, Maoist—CPN (M). We use Self- Categorization Theory (SCT) as a framework and thematic analysis as a method to examine how social relationships and contextual factors contributed to political party identification during the ten year- long Maoist insurgency in Nepal. Based on the study of autobiographical narratives written by Nepali Maoist combatants, we demonstrate that a) key social and political experiences cumulatively evoked feeling positively inclined to partisan attachment; b) CPN (M) party ideology, which was presented as a cure-all to socio-political difficulties, actuated the predisposed people’s partisan alignment; c) families were largely unsupportive of their members’ intention to take part in the war; and when they participated, the family responded with antagonism; and d) party ideologues of the CPN (M), who met the partisan-leaning individuals as close friends, accelerated and sustained their friends’ motivation to become involved in the armed conflict. Together the findings culminate in a view that engagement with CPN (M) during the insurgency occurred despite resistance from family and increased exponentially because of societal and political experiences, the strong appeal of party ideology, and social network dynamics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1006-1025
Number of pages20
JournalTerrorism and Political Violence
Volume29
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Nov 2017

Keywords

  • Armed conflict
  • Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
  • Nepal
  • Socio-political context

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